What is the Hotel Rila in Borovets like?

Answer 1

I was there last year and i would say its not the stars they give the hotel( i think its supposed to be 4 stars) but it was clean and i think its wonderful if u go skiing :)

Answer 2

Here are 2 independent reviews from families who have stayed there :

Borovets is ok as a cheap place to learn how to ski/ board. I went with a party of seven and the snowboard instructor we had was awfull - the Hotel Samakov instructors however, appeared excellent but I never looked at that hotel. Don't believe the rubbish about Borovets having a long season - we went in the third week of March and any later would have resulted in boarding on grass! The upper slopes are excellent but they are only accesable from the gondola which is not always running!

Hotel Rila is probably a 2 star. The location was fantastic, you can literally board in through the front doors and the main lift is 20m away. Also all the lessons start outside it's door so from that point of view it is superb. We had four rooms and all had mouldy bathroom ceilings and as an example of how they fix things - when the guy came to fix our telly he literally unplugged it and plugged it in next door and plugged next doors telly into our room!!!

Food was always cold and poor quality, same food every night. I am not being bitter about the place - I had an excellent time and if we had been bed and breakfast then it would have been ok. We had actually paid for half board but we only ate dinner in the hotel twice... food out is so cheap that that made up for the awfull hotel food.

Last thing - if you are looking to learn to board then although the resort is cheap, the number of learner slopes is poor and they all have button lifts - not something you want to learn to deal with before you can even stand up on a board!

If you are a fairly competent boarder then I HIGHLY recommend going to the top of the gondola and skiing offpiste between the trees/ bushes to the side of the blue run - awesome fun! Also if you are a good boarder then board down the something Masala run from the top of the gondola to the bottom of the hill - it is great fun, very challenging and took us an hour and a half. Don't be fooled into thinking its a green run - that is only for skiiers (snowploughing all the way down), the twists and turns combined with the narrowness probably make it at least a red run for boarders!

Thats it! have fun but prepare to eat out every night if you stay at the Rila!


We have just returned from a weeks skiing holiday in the Rila Hotel, Borovets. our party size was 4 adults and 4 children, ages ranging from 9years - 40years old. I had read most of the reviews regarding this resort/hotel and was slightly worried of what we were going to?
The rooms were clean tidy and big enough - there was always hot water and the maids cleaned the rooms every day.
The Pool - The children loved the pool and Jacuzzi - great for the adults they can sit in the lounge and enjoy watching them through the glass while sipping a cold beer or warm wine?
The restaurant was a buffet service which had a good range of food - the children loved brakfast time where they would que for the pancakes.
The lounge has plenty of seating with waitress service, beer was around 300 levs and childrens drinks like a milk shake 500 levs.
The skiing - we had booked a weeks ski school with the holiday package. My children and wife had not skied before and found the instructor (Mariana) very helpful and friendly. By the end of the week they were skiing down the green, Blue and a part of the Red slopes. The main 4 man chair lifts are situated 20metres from the front on the Rila Hotel and the gondala just 5 miniutes walk away.

I would recommend this resort to anyone from a beginner to an intermediate skier.

The hotel and resort has a friendly and comfortable feel, the few restaurants we went into were clean tidy and served some excellent food, dont be afraid to ask for something different, the locals are very friendly.
If you are looking for a friendly, cheap, with good skiing conditions then this is the place.

PS - I will be booking again.